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| By israelinsider staff May 15, 2007 |
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Israeli Channel Two's investigative program "Fact" [Uvda] reported Tuesday that dozens of soldiers in elite Israel Defense Forces units have suffered serious illnesses in recent years after participating in a top secret IDF experiment meant to aid development of an anthrax vaccine.
The experiment, sponsored since 1999 by the Defense Ministry, included 800 test subjects, the report said. Soldiers participating in the experiment were prohibited from disclosing information about it, even to their families and even after some began developing illnesses.
The soldiers developed tumors, lung infections, migraine headaches, bronchitis and epileptic seizures.
Neither the Defense Ministry nor the IDF have taken responsibility for medical care of soldiers undergoing treatment for these conditions in civilian medical facilities, despite the likelihood that the army experience caused their conditions.
One of the soldiers who took part in the experiment told Channel 2: "They said that one group would receive the American vaccine, and the other group would receive the experimental Israel vaccine. The specifically explained to us that the vaccine is not dangerous and that we were not being injected with the actual virus, not even the dead virus. Instead, they said they would inject us with the altered DNA of the virus. They said it was very advanced."
The Defense Ministry responded by saying "the research was conducted in preparation for the protection of the population of Israel from a strategic threat. It was conducted under the approval of the Helsinki committee [for human experimentation] and was carried out with the help of soldiers who volunteered, who were kept under very strict medical observation. They were told in detail about the research and given the option to quit at any time."
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